Zdeno Chara shaves over 7 minutes off his Boston Marathon finish time

BOSTON -- Simply put, Zdeno Chara is not human. The former Bruins captain ran his second Boston Marathon on Monday, shaving over seven minutes off his finish time from last year's race.

Running again for Team Hoyt, Chara crossed the finish line in 3:30:52 on Monday, averaging 8:08 per mile throughout the race. He completed his first Boston Marathon in 3:38:23 last year.

But he had just three months of training leading up to his first Boston Marathon. A little more prep work helped Big Z cut down his finish time in 2024, and leaves us wondering what he'll do in next year's race.

Monday's Boston Marathon was the seventh marathon that Chara has run over the last 12 months, and he already has his sights on No. 8. After recovering from Monday's 26.2-mile conquering, Chara will head across the pond for the London Marathon next Sunday.

Yes, you read that correctly. The 47-year-old Chara will run another marathon in just six days. 

"The feeling of crossing the finish line and having fun on the course and being fit and in good shape just gives you the confidence and excitement to sign up for another one," Chara told The Boston Globe last week. "Once you've done one, you just don't want to stop."

That's the kind of mentality you'd expect out of the 6-foot-9 giant, who has also completed a half Ironman, a 5 kilometer trail race, and a number of other road races since retiring from the NHL in 2022. He was in incredible shape throughout his 24-year playing career in the NHL thanks to his borderline insane workouts, and he's now transferred that mentality to any race that he signs up for.

Which is great news for Bostonians. It sounds like the 2011 Stanley Cup champ will be a fixture on Marathon Monday until he can't run anymore. Knowing Chara, that likely won't happen for another 100 or so years.